Page 9 of An Inconvenient Marriage
“You were supposed to be a vision in white—the headline has already been printed—but now you look like this!”
“I wanted something different.” I regretted the words the moment they were out of my mouth.
“You wanted?” My father twisted his body so he was standing in front of me. His broad back did a good job of hiding me from whoever was behind us. “In what world do your wants matter, little girl?”
Yet again, I hated how my eyes stung and how my throat grew thick with emotion. “I’m—”
“Is there a problem here?” Zach’s voice floated through the air, his Spanish accent holding an edge.
My father gave me a final glare, then schooled his features and planted a striking smile on his face as he turned toward Zach. “No problem. I was just spending a few moments with my daughter.”
Zach’s dark gaze shifted from my father and landed on me. The intense way he was studying me had an unfamiliar feeling uncurling low in my belly. Tiny butterfly wings flapped and brushed against my insides, my knees weakening and my heart picking up speed.
What the hell?
“Natalie, come. We’re leaving.”
“Leaving? You can’t leave,” my father cried incredulously.
Those dark eyes stayed trained on me for a few more seconds that honestly felt like an eternity. When he finally released me to focus on my father again, I let out a soft, long breath. Because holy moly, whatever just happened was… I didn’t even know what, just that it made me feel all sorts of things.
None of which made sense.
“Surely you are not telling me what I can and can’t do, Trent?” His voice sounded edgier than before. Cold and brutal. And most importantly, there was something about him that had my father shifting from one foot to the other.
It was a subtle movement, but one I didn’t miss.
“It’s your wedding reception. People want to congratulate you. Celebrate with you.”
Zach’s jaw muscle jumped. “They don’t need us to be here to celebrate. Point them toward the open bar and they’ll be happy. Besides…” His gaze was on me again. “You can hardly blame me for wanting my lovely bride all to myself.”
Oh.
No.
Not waiting for my father’s response, or mine for that matter, Zach spun on his heel and stalked in the gate’s direction.
I really didn’t want to follow him but I didn’t want to stay either. So with another deep drag of air to my lungs, I set one foot in front of the other. I made it three steps before my father’s fingers bit into my wrist.
“Don’t disappoint me.”
Without saying a word, I waited for him to let go. When I was finally free of his grasp, there was no need to force my feet to move, and I all but ran for that limo. Whatever waited inside couldn’t have been worse than the man I left behind.
I’d walked so fast, I reached the limo just as Zach slipped into his side of it. Pressing my hand to my stomach, I took another quick breath and got in, too. My door was barely closed when he leaned forward and rattled off the address of a five-star hotel to the driver.
I frowned. “We’re not going to your home.”
“No.”
“Oh.”Oh. Nervous tendrils licked down my spine and coiled tight inside my stomach. I always knew my freedom would come at a price but now I wasn’t so sure if it was one I could pay.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, Zach leaned his head back and closed his eyes. I took the opportunity to fully take him in. It was rather disappointing to realize how much of his beauty was never captured on camera.
Sure, the photos of him in magazines and on the internet were gorgeous, but this man, this apathetic man sitting next to me, was breathtaking.
His skin was effortlessly golden. His shiny dark hair neatly combed back with a few strands defiantly hanging over his forehead. If you looked close enough, you could only just see a five o’clock shadow touching the sharp angles of his jaw.
He really was incredibly handsome.
